Raymond Tamasi: A decision about medical marijuana

Two weeks ago this newspaper reported on my involvement with a medical marijuana dispensary: The article incorrectly described my role as a "new position" and listed it under my "present position" as if to imply that I was leaving Gosnold to take another full-time job.

Two weeks ago this newspaper reported on my involvement with a medical marijuana dispensary. The article incorrectly described my role as a "new position" and listed it under my "present position" as if to imply that I was leaving Gosnold to take another full-time job.

This is simply not true. In fact, and as was previously reported by this paper, my position was solely as consultant to write education and prevention material about medical marijuana and its risks. I was not retained as a salaried employee of the dispensary, made no investment in it nor did I serve on its board. Any compensation that I might receive would be donated to the Gosnold Prevention Program. Further, my proposed involvement was fully discussed with the Gosnold board of directors and they supported my actions.

In 2013, nearly 70 percent of the electorate voted to legalize medical marijuana. I believe it was an ill-informed decision. My opposition was based on what I believe is a plan to eventually approve social legalization and to loopholes in the law that make it possible to prescribe it for almost any reason. Medical marijuana is now legal and while it's fine for some to lament this fact, addiction professionals have a larger responsibility. Prevention, awareness, and education needs to be in schools, medical offices, businesses, communities, and yes, even medical marijuana dispensaries. The law has been enacted and the focus must now shift to consideration of the response, namely:

1. What is the responsibility of an addiction treatment and prevention professional to ensure that patients certified by their doctor to take medical marijuana have clear information about the related risks?

2. Can that message have greater impact if it is provided by the very entity that is filling the "prescription"?

3. Given that there will be individuals who develop dependence on this drug, is this a unique opportunity to increase awareness and get people to recognize problems and seek help earlier?

4. Might this lead to better collaboration between dispensaries and certifying physicians through patient and physician education?

5. Can inclusion of an education and prevention component in the initial implementation of this law influence future standards of care?

Consider how education about the risks of opiate pain medication in the 1990s might have influenced prescribing patterns and perhaps averted the current opiate crisis. What might be different today if we had allied with medical practitioners 20 years ago to better educate and identify problems?

In 2014, a group led by physicians and law enforcement professionals applied for a medical marijuana dispensary license. They asked if I would develop prevention information, educational material about risks for dependence, and a directory of community helping resources to be available for their patients. I agreed to do so.

In the wake of this newspaper's story on my involvement with the medical marijuana dispensary I have been inundated with emails and phone calls.

In addition to confusion about my professional status, some have erroneously suggested that my position with the dispensary was an endorsement of social marijuana use and an abandonment of my long-held principles. Nothing could be further from the truth. The continuing inaccuracies and incomplete reports have become an unnecessary distraction from my commitment to Gosnold's work with community leaders across the region to combat the opiate crisis.

Consequently, I have relinquished my role as Education and Prevention Consultant for the dispensary.

I have devoted over 40 years to addiction treatment and prevention and have the privilege of working with outstanding professionals. I have helped develop innovative treatment approaches that have been recognized and replicated nationally. But more than this, I have seen the hope and promise of recovery brought to thousands of men and women.

We are entering a new era in addiction treatment and prevention brought on by the opiate crisis, advances in neuroscience, and the Affordable Care Act. We must adapt to new knowledge and adopt novel approaches to how treatment and prevention are delivered. It's either that or remain stuck in antiquated and archaic methods that have done little to change the fact that only 10 percent of Americans who need addiction treatment get it.

We are on the verge of tremendous breakthroughs in the treatment and prevention of addiction. We need to embrace and test new ideas and consider options that just a few years ago would be unthinkable. Only then will we have the chance to reverse the scourge of addiction and turn the tide that is drowning our society.